Monaco is the home of the great Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo, Tobermory the home of the slightly smaller, but just as equally proud Mull Rally. Both have splendid buildings - Monaco has its Palace, Mull its Glengorm Castle.
Monaco wins on nightlife, Mull scores on wildlife, with whales, otters, dolphins and seals within sight, and white-tailed sea eagles amongst the birds aloft. You can breathe easier on Mull. It has fewer than 4 residents per square kilometre, compared to Monaco's 17,700. And try as hard as you will, nowhere in Monaco can you buy a haggis supper, and eat it to the sound of bagpipes. A lone piper even marches ahead of the Mull Rally cars at the Ceremonial Start.
Every year both rallies are hopelessly over-subscribed, with rally drivers from around the world desperate to compete. This year is no exception: within 24 hours of the Mull Entry List opening, half the entries had arrived, and Clerk of the Course Iain Campbell is delighted:
"Mull has a magic all its own: you need a ferry just to get here, and it's not an easy rally when you do arrive. We've had roads and bridges washed away, but equally we've had brilliant sunshine and better views than you'd get in the Mediterranean."
"This year Mull, like the Monte, will be taken to a world-wide audience: I’m delighted that iRally, the world's largest independent rally App with its huge user base, has backed Mull and will cover the event, stage by stage, just as it would if this was Monte-Carlo or the Acropolis Rally.”
The Tunnock's Mull Rally roars into life on Friday October 12: pictured on Mull is the MK11 Ford Escort belonging to local driver Eddie O'Donnell, one of the first to enter for this year’s event.
Monaco wins on nightlife, Mull scores on wildlife, with whales, otters, dolphins and seals within sight, and white-tailed sea eagles amongst the birds aloft. You can breathe easier on Mull. It has fewer than 4 residents per square kilometre, compared to Monaco's 17,700. And try as hard as you will, nowhere in Monaco can you buy a haggis supper, and eat it to the sound of bagpipes. A lone piper even marches ahead of the Mull Rally cars at the Ceremonial Start.
Every year both rallies are hopelessly over-subscribed, with rally drivers from around the world desperate to compete. This year is no exception: within 24 hours of the Mull Entry List opening, half the entries had arrived, and Clerk of the Course Iain Campbell is delighted:
"Mull has a magic all its own: you need a ferry just to get here, and it's not an easy rally when you do arrive. We've had roads and bridges washed away, but equally we've had brilliant sunshine and better views than you'd get in the Mediterranean."
"This year Mull, like the Monte, will be taken to a world-wide audience: I’m delighted that iRally, the world's largest independent rally App with its huge user base, has backed Mull and will cover the event, stage by stage, just as it would if this was Monte-Carlo or the Acropolis Rally.”
The Tunnock's Mull Rally roars into life on Friday October 12: pictured on Mull is the MK11 Ford Escort belonging to local driver Eddie O'Donnell, one of the first to enter for this year’s event.